


Day Forty-Seven || Digging for Treasure

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [47]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 04:38:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17822033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Sometimes, you have to be a little tricky to keep your kids busy and out of your hair. And sometimes, you can even convince them to help with a chore without them even realizing! It worked on Sasuke, so why not let him give it a try on his own kids?





	Day Forty-Seven || Digging for Treasure

It was a trick his mother used on him when he was a child.

Every Spring, as a matter of fact. It was Mikoto’s subtle way to get her son outside, and help her with her gardening. He just...didn’t realize it. Once the ground began to thaw in the coming of Spring, she told him that the kami of the new season would leave treasure for good little girls and boys in the soil of their house’s garden. All he had to do was go out with a shovel, and find it!

Of course, Sasuke had been eager to find buried treasure! So he’d taken Mikoto’s proffered trowel, and got to work.

But little did he know that - every autumn, when Mikoto would clear away the weeds and the dying annuals of her flower beds - she would bury ryō coins in the holes left behind to await the coming of Spring.

And those were the same coins he would find.

The trick has only worked once on Itachi. Though he would never admit it, despite his logic, he loved the idea of spirits and gods. But that particular ruse was too transparent to him and his brilliant mind.

But when Sasuke took up the tradition he eagerly played along.

“What are you up to, Sasuke?”

Knelt in the dirt, he’d looked up to his older brother with starry eyes. “Lookin’ for treasure, nīsan! Kāsan told me about it?”

“Ahh, the treasure left behind by the kami?” Itachi stooped down to his brother’s level.

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Have you found any yet?”

“Mhm!” Rooting around in his pocket, he showed off a small pile of low value coins. “See, see? She was right!”

“Indeed she was!”

“Ne, wanna help? You can keep what you find!”

Itachi simply gave him a warm smile. “That’s all right Sasuke - this is  _ your _ treasure trove. Keep working, and I’m sure you’ll find them all! Then you’ll have some spending money for when I take you into the village.”

“Mhm!”

Back to work he’d gone, carefully skirting the bigger, longer-lived plants of his mother’s garden. Only once the whole space was tilled up, and his pocket heavy with change, would Sasuke go in to show his earnings to his mother.

“Oh my, look how much the kami left you!” she would enthuse, carefully prodding at the small mound of money held up proudly in his hands. “You must have been a  _ very _ good boy for the spirits to bless you with so much fortune, Sasuke!”

“You think so?”

“I  _ know _ so!”

Every Spring, it was the same.

Every Spring...until his mother was gone.

And so was the magic.

His new quarters had no garden - not even a yard, just one space of many in an apartment building. So the tradition died.

...at least, for a time.

“All right you two...I have a secret to tell you.”

Gathering up close to their father, two children listen closely.

Sasuke looks to them each seriously - one dark-eyed son, and a light-eyed daughter. “Did you know...that every Spring, the kami leave gifts for all of the good boys and girls, who patiently wait through Winter?”

His son’s eyes widen. “Really…?”

“Yes, Tenkai. They leave buried treasure in the loose soil of a yard’s garden. All you have to do is carefully go through it with your shovels, and you’ll find your reward.”

Chikyū, though younger, squints skeptically. “The kami…?”

“The little spirits, yes - the ones that live in the little stone houses at the rear of the yard. Remember?” 

“So, they leave money?”

“Yes. The better you behave, the more you can find. Once you’re done, we can carefully wash the coins, and then you’ll have some spare money to spend after your classes on the way home.”

“Can we look now?!”

“Yes, we can - coming, Chikyū?”

Staring thoughtfully...she eventually agrees.

Going into Hinata’s little tool shed beside the garden in the rear yard, Sasuke finds two little shovels for them. “Now, it won’t be hidden in the grass - only in the soil already turned up. All you have to do is go through the dirt.”

“But...what if we don’t find any?”

“Oh, I’m sure you will. You’ve both been very good this year. And the kami always reward good behavior with good fortune.”

So, when Hinata returns home from a day with her girlfriends in the early afternoon, she finds the house empty...but can hear happy squeals in the backyard. Curious, she makes her way through to the rear door. It’s there she finds her husband and children - the former sitting on the grass, observing as the latter play and dig in the dirt.

“...hello,” she greets, tone slow as she looks suspiciously to her husband. He signals her to quiet, and gestures to sit beside him. “...what have you been doing?”

“They’re digging for treasure.”

“...are they now?”

“Mhm.” Sasuke leans to his wife’s ear as not to be overheard. “It’s an old trick my mother used on me, to get me to play outside. And also turn over her garden soil.”

“...is  _ that _ what you were up to last Autumn? Burying coins?”

Sasuke just grins.

After a pause, she huffs a laugh. “...I will admit, that’s...clever.”

“My mother thought so. Itachi saw right through it, I’m sure...but it kept me going up until…” He fades to silence.

“...I see. Well, I think we have a new tradition on our hands. But...you  _ do _ realize this means more laundry, and more baths. They’re  _ filthy _ .”

“Well, it was either them or you toiling in the soil. And at least they get to have a little fun with it, right?”

“Yes, you’re right.”

“...I’ll do baths. You do laundry.”

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Pre midnight post, woo! And after a very...sub par day. A little on the short side, but...well, the concept wasn't too deep either, ahaha.
> 
> I know I've heard of this concept before, though I can't recall where. Pretty clever! Except...for the mess afterward. But what's a little dirt compared to some time with kids kept busy, right?
> 
> These are the two kids I have planned for ALAS - Tenkai's made an appearance already, though I think this is his sister's debut. I have four next gen OCs to go with the swapped ships of NaruSaku and SasuHina, but maybe we'll get to the other two another time!
> 
> For now, I gotta call it a night. Thanks so much for reading!


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